Peter cursed and then raised his brows at everyone’s shocked expression.
“This is serious stuff. My uncle owns a farm, that’s how he supports his family.”
“His farm will not last.” The old man shook his head. “If we don’t stop their infection, it will ultimately destroy all the worlds. They will start with this one and then move on to the others. First, the archfiends will cloak mortal world in darkness, and then they will unleash their…”
He faltered. His lips moved but no sound escaped his mouth.
Kara leaned forward. “Their what?”
Mr. Patterson lowered his voice. “Their four knights.”
A strange tingling spread over Kara’s body. “Their four knights?”
“SHHH!”
Mr. Patterson jumped on the spot. His eyes widened, and he looked over his shoulder, as if he were expecting these knights to suddenly appear. He clasped his crystal closer to his chest like a safety blanket. “Do not speak their name so loudly.”
“Okay, sorry.” Kara raised her gloved hands in apology.
She caught David’s eye, and for a moment she couldn’t speak. His face was unreadable, but he was looking at her. There was eye contact, and that was definitely a huge improvement. She tried not to show her relief in her face or in her voice.
“So what are they, these creatures? The ones we shouldn’t name?” she asked and reluctantly moved her eyes away from David, feeling his eyes still on her.
Mr. Patterson lowered his voice again. “The four knights of the apocalypse.”
The tingling rolled up Kara’s back and spread to her fingers.
“Why do I get the feeling this is really, really bad.” Peter stared at a spot on his right arm where the imps had dug out the key to unlock their master’s prison. He looked frightened, and Kara felt sorry for him.
“Because it probably is.” David stood with his hands in his pockets. His eyes looked wild.
“Expect the worse, man, and you won’t be disappointed. Trust me. It’s been working for me lately.” He glanced at Kara, and she felt a stabbing pain in her chest.
Mr. Patterson coughed lightly and waited to get everyone’s attention before continuing.
“When the archfiends broke out of their prison, it began a series of events that will ultimately culminate in war—war of the worlds. The darkness will bring the four…”
He paused and added with a whisper, “Knights of the apocalypse.”
Kara flinched. The tingling inside her worsened.
“Each knight possesses unique abilities that correspond to their apocalyptic roles.”
Kara’s tingling started to burn inside her. Something was definitely wrong, but she kept a straight face.
“The first one is War,” explained Mr. Patterson. “This knight can alter human perception and make people see enemies when there are none. It creates hatred and mistrust and ultimately creates wars between nations. The second knight is Famine. This creature begins by destroying all the earth’s natural resources, then it will turn on mortals themselves and drive their hungers and addictions for the food and resources it has destroyed. The third knight is Pestilence. This horrible wraith creates and manipulates deadly human diseases until the entire world is plagued with sickness.”
Kara swayed slightly and braced herself against her increasing pain.
Mr. Patterson paused, as though he were gathering up the courage to continue.
“The last and most deadly of all the knights is the one called Death—”
Kara cried out in agony.
She doubled over and clasped her chest as searing, white-hot pain coursed through her insides.
Chapter 3
The Four Rings
Kara could feel the black veins like tiny, sharp knives inside her. They twisted and sliced as they made their way up her legs and surrounded her torso. She convulsed as another tidal wave of pain rolled inside her. She screamed a silent scream, aware that everyone was watching her turn into a monster.
Her embarrassment and desperation to make whatever was happening to her stop seemed to force the pain to subside, but she knew it wouldn’t last for very long.
“Kara? What is it?”
Kara blinked the spots away from her eyes. David was right beside her, and she felt his hands holding her up. She wanted to smile, but she couldn’t feel her face.
“Come, come over here and sit down.” He cradled her, careful not to pull on her wings as he balanced her weight. Not that she had the strength to refuse. Her delight at his sudden change of heart made the pain worth it. At least now he was speaking to her.
He led her to a small wooden chair that hadn’t been destroyed by the imps and sat her down. Her wings hung heavily over the sides of the chair like thick drapes. They were more of a burden than she cared to admit. David clasped her gloved hand in his and knelt beside her.
“Kara. What the heck is happening to you? What was that?”
Kara still held her stomach with her left arm.
“Cramps from the wings,” she lied as she waited for the tremors of pain to lessen.
“I think I’ve been overdoing it with my hours of flying practice. I stayed up there for too long, and I’ve over exerted myself. I’m still trying to get used to these new wings. I’ll be fine in a minute. It’s really not that big a deal.”
David didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press her.
He continued to hold her hand and said, “I’m sorry for being such an idiot before. I haven’t been myself lately.”
“I know,” said Kara. Her eyes searched into his, and she gave him the tiniest of smiles.
And from the way his look softened, she knew that it was all she’d ever needed to say. It was a silent apology that they both offered and accepted.
Mr. Patterson frowned. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right? You gave us all quite a fright.”
He leaned forward. “You say that your wings caused this outburst?”
Kara sank back into the chair, her face neutral as the old man inspected her. “It’s really no big deal, just cramps from over doing it with my wings. I’m fine, really. It’s passed.”
“Well, it didn’t look fine,” said Mr. Patterson. “You looked like you were in a great deal of pain, as though something was hurting you.”
He watched her for a moment. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Kara hated how Mr. Patterson always seemed to be able to read her mind. Maybe oracles had mind reading powers. Did he know about the veins? Did all her friends know how much she was still changing.
Their terrified looks showed that they were all thinking the same thing. How long until she changes completely? How long until she becomes an angel-killing monster.
She looked at her friends. “I’m sorry I made everyone jump. It’s nothing. I promise.”
Desperate to change the subject and to keep David next to her she asked, “So, tell us about the last knight…the one you called Death. Why is he the worst of the four?”
“Death,” repeated Mr. Patterson, “has control over all life: animal, human, angel, and even death itself.”
An icy shiver rippled through Kara’s body. She did not want to come face to face with this knight. But something inside her told her otherwise. Somehow she knew she would have to face this demon, just like she would have to come to terms with her own.
Mr. Patterson flicked a spec of lint off his crystal ball.
“Now, listen carefully, all of you. We kept the archfiends confined with additional layers of protection. Four seals were created. These seals derive their strength from this mortal world and protect against the archfiends’ power. They are not physical things like this crystal here. Think of them as invisible bonds or locks that can only be broken if the mortal world from which the seals draw their power is destroyed. The energy of life itself and everything mortal that is bound to this earth is what keeps the seals strong. Destroy the earth, and the seals are broken.”
He paused for a moment and then continued, “Over the years, we’ve heard rumors that the archfiends had figured out a way to break the seals. We dismissed these rumors. But we were wrong.”
The old man was silent for a moment, his eyes cold and hard. “Even in their confinement, the archfiends were still more powerful than we believed. Over time they created the knights to be their champions. The knights are the keys that will enable the archfiends to escape their confinement.”
“So what’s the link between these knights and the seals?” asked Kara.
Mr. Patterson fixed her with a stare. “We believe the knights were somehow created from the seals themselves, or they possess some essence derived from the seals. In any case it appears that they can break the seals. Four knights for four seals, and as each knight completes his carnage upon the mortal world, the seals will break and the locks on the archfiend prisons will fail.”
Kara shifted in her seat. “But I thought the archfiends were already out of their dungeon.”
“They are, yes,” said Mr. Patterson. “But in order for the archfiends to remain here indefinitely and to rule the worlds, the four knights must break their seals to destroy the prison. When the last seal is broken, lightning, earthquakes, hail, fire, mass extinction, poisoned waters, and monsters will plague the earth. The real carnage, the real apocalypse starts only when the four knights have broken the four seals.”
“Perfect,” said David. “Just what we need. I think I’d like to take my two weeks of vacation time now. I hear the beaches in Jamaica are to die for.”
Mr. Patterson scowled at David. His fingers twitched around his crystal, and for a moment Kara thought he was about to smack David in the head with it.
“Does the legion know about this?” Peter stepped forward. Ever since he and Jenny had come back from the Healing-Xpress, Peter had looked and acted differently. He seemed older somehow, and there was a darkness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Kara could see new determination in him. He wanted payback for what had happened to him. It was both exciting and scary at the same time, like a loose cannon.
Mr. Patterson raised his brows. “They do.”
“So what are they going to do about it?” said Peter with resentment in his voice, as though he blamed the legion for everything that had happened.
Mr. Patterson looked drained.
“The legion doesn’t think the knights pose as big a threat as the archfiends. In fact, they are all connected.”
He sighed.
“As we speak, the legion is forming combat strategies with demons from the Netherworld. They believe they’ll have the upper hand in strength, with the help of the demons. And they will strike the archfiends soon.”
Kara surveyed the old man’s face. “But you don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She knew him well enough to know when he was in silent disagreement, which was the case with her most of the time when she had worked for him at the bookstore.
The old man looked at her. His frown deepened and a great wave of sadness rolled over his face.
“I don’t. I believe going after the archfiends will deliver a devastating blow upon us. The archfiends are too powerful. Even now, when they are not at their fullest strength, they are the most powerful creatures in all the worlds. They are an unstoppable, destructive force. The legion underestimates their power.”
“I think…” he paused and shook his head. “No, I know the archfiends will be expecting our attack. They will slaughter us.”
“Then you have to warn them,” cried Jenny suddenly. “Ariel is going out there. Our friends will die.”
She raised her voice even more. “You must tell her!”
“I have,” said Mr. Patterson somberly. “We have, the oracles and the oracle mothers have told them many times. But the legion chose not to listen.”
“So that’s it?” Ashley shook her head and shrugged. “We just sit here and wait for the end of the world? We can’t just do nothing. There’s got to be another way.”
Kara watched Mr. Patterson. “There’s something else, isn’t there? You’ve found out something, something that can help us. Tell us what it is. If there’s a way to stop this, I want to know, and I don’t care how crazy it sounds.”
“Get ready for crazy,” said David.
Mr. Patterson was silent for a moment, as though he was debating whether to let them in on his secret. Kara saw the smallest trace of a spark in his eyes.
“But all is not lost.”
“You’re speaking in riddles again, old man.” David finally let go of Kara’s hand and stood up. “If you’ve got something to say…if you have a plan in that big head of yours, by all means…we’re listening.”
Despite the seriousness of their end-of-the-world conversation, Mr. Patterson smiled. “I believe I have.”
He looked at Kara and her friends for a moment and then added with more conviction, “I believe we still have a chance to win, to come out victorious…to save the worlds.”
“Which is?” David crossed his arms over his chest, unconvinced, and glanced at Peter. But Peter looked hopeful and moved a little closer to hear the old man’s plan.
Mr. Patterson patted a round bundle inside his jacket pocket.
“I’ve spoken to the oracles and the oracle mothers, and we’ve come up with a plan. We cannot destroy what is indestructible, but we can find a way to confine it.”
Another wave of pain surged through Kara, and she fought hard keep her voice steady. “You mean to put them back into their cage?”
“Exactly.”
“But…” Kara grimaced. The pain was like hot wax being poured on her wings. But then it subsided a little, and she was glad that the others had mistakenly read her scowl as intense determination instead of pain.
“The archfiends aren’t stupid. I doubt they’re re going to fall again for whatever trick the legion used to lock them up in the first place.”
“Exactly,” said Mr. Patterson again.
His face brightened. “Which is why it’s brilliant and why it’s going to work. They won’t be expecting us to try it again.”
The five guardians all stared at the little man in stunned silence.
Mr. Patterson’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed them all again. He looked a little offended that they didn’t think his plan was a brilliant one.
David forced a laugh. “Told you it’d be crazy—no, it’s insane. We can’t succeed when the archfiends have seen the plan before.”
“Not necessarily.” Kara studied the oracle. “You must have something up your sleeve to go with your brilliant plan. Well?”
Mr. Patterson spoke feverishly. “To stop the apocalypse, we must stop the archfiends, and to do that…we must seal them back in their prison.”
He paused and watched the confused expressions on the guardians’ faces and decided to elaborate. “Theoretically, their cage is still there. It still exists. It was never destroyed but merely opened.”
Kara shifted excitedly in her chair, her pain forgotten. “So we can lock them back in. This is good, right? But can we actually do it?”
Her enthusiasm died as she looked at Peter.
“But how? The key was lost…they took it and have probably destroyed it by now.”
Peter looked as if he were reliving the savage imp attack that had nearly cost him his angel life.
Mr. Patterson nodded and held up a finger. “Yes, the key to their cage was destroyed, but there is another way.”
Glad to have their fullest attention now, he continued excitedly. “The archfiends’ enclosure was originally secured by five different seals or five different locks if you will. The first seal was broken with the Keeper’s key which unlocked the prison.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Peter.
“But, as I said before, for the archfiends to regain their strength in our worlds, the other four seals must be broken. And since the four knights have the ability to break the remaining four seals, we believe if we c
an stop the knights, then the archfiends will be forced back into their abysmal prison.”
Silence fell, and then Kara asked, “And why’s that exactly?”
“The life-force that protects us is bound to the seals. If a knight fails to break his seal, part of the prison wall will rebuild itself. If all four of the knights fail, the archfiends will be forced back into their cage, and the seals will lock the cage forever.”
Kara gripped the sides of her chair and straightened herself. “So we need to keep the knights from breaking the seals. We can win the war if we can actually do this.”
“That is correct.”
And then it hit her. If somehow she could get the archfiends back into their cage, then maybe the infection they had injected in her with would die, too. It made sense. If the archfiends’ power was linked to the seals, then they needed to break the seals to complete her transformation. At last, Kara felt hopeful. She had found the way to reverse the curse. She felt like she’d been given a giant dose of antibiotics. She felt great. No, she felt amazing.
“Don’t get too excited,” said David.
He began to pace the room but then stopped and turned around to face the old man. “You said you believe. And you said it a few times. Why do I get the feeling that part of you isn’t sure that your master plan is going to work?”
“Nothing in this life or the next is sure,” said Mr. Patterson.
David raised his brows at Mr. Patterson, and then the little man said, “It’s a working theory—”
“What?” Jenny let out an exasperated sigh. “We’re supposed to risk our angel souls on a theory?”
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